Detroit and the History of the Automobile Contrary to popular belief, the Automobile was not invented in Detroit. After the development of the internal combustion engine, inventors all over the world attempted to develop an engine that would power a horseless-carriage. Karl Benz, of Germany, is credited with being the first person to successfully design a gasoline powered automobile in The Benz Patent Motorwagen, was the also the first car to be sold commercially.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile As for Detroit, the first automobile to debut on the streets was produced and operated by Charles Brady King. King’s car was described by the Detroit Free Press: “The first horseless carriage in the city was seen out on the streets last night. The apparatus seems to work all right, and it went a the rate of five or six miles an hour at an even rate of speed.” As for the United States, most historians believe that it was John William Lambert of Ohio City, Ohio who produced the first working American Automobile in 1891.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile Despite the fact that he was not the first, even in Detroit, Henry Ford is probably the individual most identified with the automobile. Ford was born in 1863, in Greenfield Township (near modern-day Dearborn.) Despite growing up on farmland, in his youth was interested in mechanical engineering. He looked up to Thomas Edison, and when he was old enough he moved to Detroit to work as an apprentice machinist. in 1891 Ford got a job with the Edison Illuminating Company where he quickly became the Chief Engineer. With his spare time, and the extra money he was making with his promotion, Ford worked on his first automobile in his garage, behind his home at 58 Bagley.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile

Three months after Charles King debuted the first car on the streets of Detroit, Ford was ready to test his first car, which he called a Quadricycle, partially because it used four bicycle wheels. However on the morning of June 4 th, when he decided that the car was ready, he realized that it was too big to get out of his shed and that he would have to demolish the wall. Only after Ford picked up an axe and used it to knock down a portion of the shed’s brick wall, were Ford and his assistant able to wheel the car out onto the streets. Although one part malfunctioned and had to be replaced, the first ride was a success in that Ford was able to return home, and also because the vehicle topped out at 20 miles per hour, four times faster than King’s.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile

Ford was not the first to open a Auto factory in Detroit either. Ransom Olds, opened his Olds Motor Company in Detroit in 1899, producing the Curved Dash Oldsmobile for two years before the factory burned down in 1901, and the company moved back to Lansing. The fire also had a ripple affect. While rebuilding in Lansing, Olds was not able to build many of his own parts, which lead to many companies, including Dodge, getting their start as parts-makers.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile Henry Ford opened the Detroit Automobile Company, in August of Ford had three investors including the Mayor, and a Senator, but the Investors became upset when Ford took too long to produce their first product. The investors had seen the profit that Oldsmobile was making and were unhappy that Ford was such a perfectionist. The company was dissolved in 1901, and in two years the company had made only twenty vehicles and lost $86,000. One lasting piece from the D.A.C. was a chart included in its catalog that showed the advantages of owning an automobile over a horse and carriage. In the early 1900’s most people still felt that autombiles were not practical.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile Table 1. Detroit Automobile Car Costs [4] [4] Automobile Original cost$1,000 Cost of operating, ¼ cents per mile, 25 miles per day$114 New tires$100 Repairs$50 Painting vehicle four times$100 $1,364 Horse and Vehicle Original cost, horse, harness and vehicle$500 Cost of keeping horse five years$1,200 Shoeing the horse$180 Repairs on vehicle, including rubber tires$150 Repairs on harness, $10 per year$50 Painting vehicle four times$100 $2,180

Detroit and the History of the Automobile Fords’ second company, the Henry Ford Company, was also a failure. Ford quit within six months, and the company did not last even a full year. When the investors called in a machinist named Henry Leland was called in to help sell the leftover parts, Leland convinced them to let him open a new company: Cadillac. Ford however, took the $900 he received when he left the Henry Ford Company and started Ford Motor Company. The Ford Motor Company, began manufacturing various vehicles in 1903, including the Model A, the Model K, and the Model S. In 1908, Ford produced the Model T, which was so popular that the company could not keep up with production.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile

Demand for the Model T was so high that Ford moved Model T production from a rented factory near downtown to a new factory further out in Highland Park.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile

Production of the Model T improved in Highland Park, as shown below. The assembly line, had many unintended consequences. Obviously, the assembly line meant cars could be made faster. One famous story was that the cars were being made so quickly that the only color of paint that could dry fast enough to keep up the pace was Japan Black, leading Ford to say: "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." 1909 (Downtown)1911 (Highland Park)1913 (Assembly Line) 18,000 Cars Per Year69,762 Cars Per Year170,211 Cars Per Year

Detroit and the History of the Automobile

The assembly line also was criticized because many felt it turned factory workers indo mindless drones who did the same job over and over again. Charlie Chaplin spoofed the repetitive work in his movie Modern Times.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile The most important result of the assembly line was that it was difficult on employees. Ford was losing employees so often, that it became a problem to constantly hire and train new employees, which was expensive and slowed down production. To solve this problem, Ford instituted two major changes. First the company shortened the work day to a standard eight- hour day, five days a week. Ford also doubled its wages, paying $5.00 a day. The five-dollar-a-day wage had not kept employees loyal, which meant production increased, and the price of the Model T dropped. This lead to the car being so affordable that the men working the assembly line could afford it themselves.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile Ford’s five dollar wage, also brought many people from across the world to Detroit, because it was such good pay for relatively unskilled labor.

Detroit and the History of the Automobile Why Detroit and Michigan? Detroit had been one of the capitals of the bicycle craze, which provided mechanics interested in speed, factories that had built bicycle parts and paved streets that allowed for driving. Many carriage makers in Michigan were converting to iron frames because timber was too expensive, meaning Michigan already had frames ready for cars. The availability of iron from the Upper Peninsula was also needed since the new engines being built required iron ore. In addition, Detroit had 44 millionaires in 1900, who could invest into companies like Ford, Olds, Cadillac, Dodge and Buick.